India's $4 smartphone will start shipping later this week

Earlier this year, India's Ringing Bells caused quite a stir when it announced that it would be coming out with a smartphone for the equivalent of $4 (₹251). After allegations of fraud, which led to an investigation by the government, the company is finally ready to ship the handset. Ringing Bells founder and CEO Mohit Goel has announced that over 200,000 units of the Freedom 251 will start going out to pre-ordered customers from June 30.

While India counts several great budget phones, making a handset for $4 is extremely challenging. Goel said that the company will initially make a loss of ₹150 ($2.20) on each unit, but with enough demand, it is looking to become profitable in the future:

We will have a loss, but I am happy that the dream of connecting rural and poor Indians as part of the 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' initiatives has been fulfilled with 'Freedom 251'.

Our devices are completely 'Make in India' and were manufactured at our Haridwar-based manufacturing unit. We plan to sell two lakh devices every month.